


Life is Strange Ficlets

by DevinTowerwood



Series: Life is Strange Prompts [1]
Category: Life Is Strange, Love is Strange - Fandom
Genre: And I will write them in ~1000 words, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Send me your drabble requests
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:59:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7645741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevinTowerwood/pseuds/DevinTowerwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Send me a fluff situation and a pairing that only requires a single scene. I will write it in 1,000 words.</p><p>Oh, and I will totally ignore any extreneous stuff. This is based off a Tumblr idea of "going straight to the good parts" by tiptoe39, so there will be no lead-up: just pure fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Winter Formal Confessions [Kate x Victoria]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We've been pretending to be lovers but I've actually fallen in love with you. I need to know how you feel."

Despite the heavy bass of the music drowning almost everything out, Stella jumps as I shove my way out the double doors of the Blackwell gym. I know Victoria’s coming after me, I know it, but if I can just get outside maybe I can think, cool off.

I can barely hear with the dull resonance of the music in my ear, but I can feel her hand fall on my shoulder before I’ve gotten far from the gym. I couldn’t hear her footsteps, only the music pulsating somewhere inside the gym and the gurgling of the fountain maybe ten paces ahead of me.

When I turn, I wish that the sweat would hide my tears, but with the way her whole face is down turned, I know she can see me crying.

“Kate, why are you leaving? Did I do something wrong?”

_No, Victoria, no. You did nothing wrong. You took me to winter formal and it was beautiful. You were beautiful. You were perfect. And somewhere in our dance, I let myself forget why you asked._

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” I know I’m talking too fast, and my eyes won’t settle on her. I can’t look at her right now. If I look at her she’ll know.

“Then Kate, what is it?”  
I think I shudder, almost in pain from the way my throat is closed up tight, when she rubs my arm comfortingly. She can’t do this.  
“You can talk to me.”

_I know I can talk to you. But if I do that, I risk everything else. I risk you touching me. I risk you kissing me in front of your friends. I risk our dates that end up almost immediately on Instagram._

But if I don’t talk to you, maybe I risk you.

“Dammit,” I say through gritted teeth, lifting my hands up to my eyes. I know my makeup must be smearing everywhere. How can I tell her like this?  
  
I splay out my fingers, not even capable of dropping them entirely. I need their protection, their camouflage.  
“Victoria, I’m in love with you. For real. I know we’re supposed to be pretending but I … I’m in love with you.”

I don’t even know how to trace all the stages her face goes through. Concern into shock. Shock into confusion. And then, it’s just like her face goes flat, neutral. I can’t see anything in her eyes, and in that moment, I shut my eyes tight.  
_She’s closed me off forever. I know it. How could someone like her love me b-_

Suddenly I feel her hands around my wrists, and my eyes blink back open. Victoria is a step closer now, and her face is still empty, but her eyes look … sad. I don’t know what that means, but I let my hands fall as she slowly drags them down away from my face.

“Kate?” She asks, but I have no idea what to say. My body is frozen, my mind is blank.  
_Please, just don’t run away. Not now._

“I love you too.”

I’m suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of vertigo, but as my legs give out from under me, Victoria wraps an arm around me, and I instead fall against her body. She is big and warm, and I can’t fall, not while she’s holding me.

“I know it was supposed to be a show. I know that. But these past few months with you have been …”  
Is Victoria choking up? What is happening?  
“ … they’ve been amazing, okay? And I fell in love with you.”

I’m afraid. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so afraid, so unsure. As I look up, holding myself back far enough from her to meet her eyes, I see that she’s afraid, too. Her lips are pursed, trying to hold back the tears that glaze her eyes.  
Victoria loves me too?

My breath returns to me almost in gasps, like I haven’t been breathing since I confessed. Maybe I haven’t been. But I have something I have to say now, and I need air.  
“Kiss me. If you mean it, kiss me for real.”

Not once have I ever seen Victoria hesitate before kissing me. It was always so easy, so … meaningless. At least, I thought it was. But now, I see her lips part, her body swelling in that nervous breath.  
She bites her lip, and she nods.

And then, with me only suspended by her arms, we kiss, and everything else is held out by the dull hum left in my ears by the music. It’s just me and her, finally just me and her. I’m not hiding, she’s not faking.  
We kiss, and we mean it.


	2. Tremble [Max x Victoria]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I have you pinned up against a wall but now I can't stop looking at your lips..."

 

“You fucking bitch.”

I know she doesn’t expect it at all - she probably doesn’t think I even have a limit for her bullshit. But right there, I hit it.  
Her eye shoot open in shock as my hand finds her sternum and her back slams into the wall. She looks down the hallway on either sides, but there’s no one coming around the corner, and by the time she thinks to cry out, my arm is pressed against her throat. She may still be able to breath, but I think she’s immediately aware of what happens if she makes a sound.

“Oh my god,” she breathes, barely above a whisper. “You really are a freak, Max.”  
Her chest rises and falls rapidly under my hand, but even as she struggles, she realizes she can’t force my hand away.

“You have no idea what I am, Victoria. You’ve never known a thing about me. And that’s just really fucked with your head, huh?” I let up on her chest just enough to shove her against the wall again. “You couldn’t make me your little pet, and I’ve had to deal with all your petty vengeance.”

She’s trembling a little under my fingers, and I know a smirk must be forming on my face. The way her lips struggle to find the right things to get away, the way they purse as she swallows, trying to sound brave. It’s perfect.  
“Max - what the fuck was I supposed to think? You came out of the woods fucking naked. You were either fucked up in the head or …” She trailed off, afraid to actually gesture at me.

“Well, ding ding ding, you got me. And I’ve got you.” The smirk turns into a full grin, and I think for the first time Victoria can see my incisors.

She swallows again, wetting her perfectly glossed lips. Her voice is even weaker. “What do you want, Max?”

Her heartbeat thrums like crazy underneath my fingers, her pupils are dilated, her skin is so warm I can feel it everywhere we touch. She’s afraid. This is how she wanted me for so long. She wanted to pin me however she could. But she never could. She would never tame me like she tamed this school.

She has no power to hurt me for my honesty, so I drop my arm from her throat, instead tracing a finger down the side of her neck. “Isn’t it obvious?” I almost purr. “I want you.”

There’s seconds of silence where she just breathes in and out, frozen in place, even though I’m not forcing her still anymore. Her eyes are locked on mine, but I just watch her lips, waiting for her confusion to manifest into words, or for her to finally bolt away.

That’s not what I get. Instead, she brings a hand up to my wrist, and twists it off of her. I’m so surprised at it that I don’t even resist it, and before I know it, I’m the one shoved up against the wall, Victoria’s long fingers loosely wrapped around my neck.

Then, finally, her lips form words, angry, angry words. They mirror my own.  
“You’re a fucking bitch, Max.”  
And I can only sneer at that.

Then her lips are on mine, firm and hot, none of that trembling anywhere. She towers over me like this, forcing my face up to hers. My hands fall to her waist, and I pull myself up straight while digging my nails into her skin. She doesn’t moan, but her breath catches as they rake down her, and as we kiss again, I bite on her lip, rolling it almost gently between my teeth.

We’re both breathless when she pulls away, although it’s just enough for us to lean our foreheads together.

“What the fuck are you?” She says, barely above a whisper.

Has she still not figured it out? I hardly feel like spoon-feeding it to her.

I snake head around the side of her face, but she doesn’t move as I plant a kiss on her neck, glistening with sweat and red from where my arm was. I let out a throaty laugh, even if it’s fake. “That’s the wrong question, Vicky.”

She offers no response, no guess at the correct question.  
“The right question is: now that you know, what do you think I’m going to do to you?”

She shivers as I bite down on the tendons of her neck.


	3. Smitten but not Bitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But what if Victoria found out that Max had an oral fixation?"

“Vic, what are you doing?”

“Huh?” I barely even register the question posed to me.

“Like, why did you just bust out those binoculars?”

Oh, right. I suppose that could use some explanation.  
I drop the binoculars from my eyes for a few seconds, turning to look at Courtney. She and Taylor sit close together, forming a rough triangle towards me. I suppose the formation looks a little awkward, what with my whole body turned perpendicular to them, leaning up against one of the trees that provides an informal sitting area for students in the quad.

Courtney’s eyebrows are shifted up, expectant of an answer, but Taylor is trying to trace the destination of my binocular spying. I should probably come up with a pretty good excuse before she gets too far.

“I’m … ah. Bird watching,” I reply, hefting the binoculars again. I mean, people use binoculars for that, right? Come to think of it, I’m not really sure what else people typically use binoculars for.

Taylor’s gaze returns back to me, particularly confused. “What birds?”

I look around a little for a possible distraction, and notice one perched atop the Blackwell fountain.  
I point at it immediately, “That one.”

I raise my binoculars back to my eyes and continue observing.

“Tori, that’s a pigeon.”

“Yeah? I never said it was anything special. It’s just … interesting.”

Even though she was flipped upside down, the detail through the binoculars are clear enough that I could notice when my suspicions are confirmed. Max Caulfield slips the back of her clear plastic paint brush in her mouth and begins to chew. Even though the stem is translucent, I’m pretty sure I can see bite marks all along it.

“She fucking … !” I’m not exactly sure what to call what she’s doing, but she’s doing the thing. She’s doing it again!

“She who?” Courtney asks.

“Max Caulfield, right?” Taylor asks … but also responds.

My eyes snap away from the binoculars immediately, locking onto Taylor. I go to question how she could possibly know this before I realize what she has in her hands. My camera.

“Looks like her camera’s totally filled with-”  
“GIVE ME THAT!” I abandon the binoculars entirely, standing up just enough to lunge at her. She doesn’t even resist as I snatch the camera from her hands, cradling it against my chest.

“Uhh,” Coutney emits flatly. There’s a long pause of awkward silence. “Why do you have creeper photos of Max on your camera?”

I practically growl at her, but I can tell she is unimpressed. It’s hard to be scary after you’ve just embarrassed yourself. I’m going to have to explain instead.

“It’s … um. For a research project.”

Taylor picks up the questioning now, “What sort of research project?”

I bite my upper lip, trying to think of the best way to phrase it. I have to make them understand.  
“Okay, look. I know this is going to sound a little weird but I … think Max has an oral fixation.”

They give me blank stares.

“No, look, guys. You don’t understand. She’s constantly chewing up shit. Look.”

I scoot up to them, and they slide over enough that I can fit between them. I lift the camera up between us, showing the preview screen.

“Okay, look. Max chews on straws after she’s done. Max chews on pencils while writing essays. Max chews on fucking paint brushes when she paints. And I mean, Taylor, you know she’s chewing gum all the time in class.”

“Uh, Vic, why is that one shot through a pane of gl-”

“Oh, nevermind that. Just look! She’s chewing on stuff all the time. That’s weird, right?”

Again, it’s the blank, judgey stares from both of them.

My voice is almost whiny by now, but I don’t see how they’re not getting it. “I mean, she’s weird! Like really weird!”

Taylor shrugs. “I mean, she puts shit in her mouth. It’s kinda whatever, you know?”

Courtney piles more on before I get the chance to respond, “Yeah, and I mean, Rachel’s got that thing where she’s always moving her hands, or like, her feet if she’s writing or something.”

“Oh, pah,” I dismiss the thought. No, Rachel was annoying, but she wasn’t incredibly fucking weird. She wasn’t constantly getting on my nerves with all the weird habits and tics. She didn’t constantly draw my eyes with an endless parade of subtle nonsense. She wasn’t like a little, living, breathing, freckled puzzle with brown hair. Nothing about Rachel kept me up at night.

But, something changes about the scene. Max finally looks up from the miniatures that she’s painting as Dana arrives at the side of the bench, and after a short greeting, she sits down beside Max.

“Honestly, Tori, I think you’re just being a little … weird.”

I barely even hear what they have to say, because I’ve set my camera down and crawled back to my binoculars, settling down onto my stomach as I raise them to my eyes.

What’s Dana doing with Max? Why is she giggling? Why are Max’s eyes doing that adorable crinkly nonsense now that Dana is here?  
Why is Dana’s hair down?  
Why is Dana’s hair down?  
Dana’s hair is never down.

And then, Dana, without even thinking about it, pushes her hair behind her ear, and a row of bruises along the side of her neck are revealed.

“Motherfucker,” I murmur.

I drop the binoculars down a few inches, but then I stoop my head down as well, settling my forehead against the eye pieces.

“Huh?” Taylor asks. “What’s up?”

“Max has definitely got an oral fixation, all right,” I mutter again, falling back onto the grass. “She’s so weird and gross.”

Taylor tries to redirect her efforts as I set the binoculars down. “Yeah, well, I mean, I guess …”

But it does nothing to help. I just raise my hands to my face and try to block out the sunlight, the day, my surroundings.  
Max is super weird, she bites everything, and she won’t bite me.

Everything sucks.


	4. Help!: My Girlfriend is an Anime Trope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Smitten but not Bitten" from Dana's POV, as well as a small sequence of events afterwards.
> 
> Victoria Chase is a little too thirsty for Dana's girlfriend. Dana is doing her best to handle it.

Dana could always sense when she was nearby. Watching. It was that tingling sensation on the back of your neck, the one most people associate with ghosts or the supernatural. That was the feeling that Victoria constantly creeping on her and her girlfriend gave her.

While it initially made her self conscious, Dana had just begun foster a healthy love of public displays of affection in Max since this began. If Victoria was going to be making a point to watch them, she may as well get the good stuff.

“Hey babe,” Dana greeted as she sat down at the courtyard bench beside Max. “Whose on the chopping block today?”

Max looked up from her barely-painted miniature and, realizing who it was, pulled the paint brush from out of her teeth and grinned. “Just a dwarven engineer,” she replied, and leaned her head down to Dana’s shoulder.

Dana hummed a little in appreciation, and swiped some hair behind her left ear. She’d been wearing her hair down to hide the hickeys on her neck, but if Victoria wanted to spy, well, she might as well get a good look.

Dana thought she heard a gasp, and snickered.

“Huh?” Max asked.  
“Oh, nothing,” Dana replied, and kissed her hair.

* * *

 

Dana and Max were just chatting on the steps of the girl’s dorm when she felt the tingle again. It only took a slight pivot to recognize that Victoria was around the corner of the boy’s dorm, her camera at the ready. She quickly slinked back into hiding as Dana turned, though she just rolled her eyes and looked back at Max.

_Seriously, Vic?_

Whatever Max was saying was suddenly interrupted as Dana crouched down and hoisted Max over her shoulder, marching up the steps of the dorm.

“Um, Danny? Why are you carrying me?”

“Someone’s being a creeper,” Dana muttered, opening the door one-handed and crouching slightly to make sure Max wouldn’t hit her head.

Max sighed, but didn’t protest any further at being carried. “Is it Warren again? I thought he’d stopped that.”

Dana wasn’t sure what else to say, so she just said, “Sure.”

Max grumbled so much that she barely seemed to recognize that Dana was carrying her up the stairs, back to her room.

* * *

 

Victoria all but jumped out of her skin when she turned around after closing her locker. Dana stood about two paces behind her in the hall, her arms crossed and a surprisingly slit-eyed glare on her face.

Victoria raised a hand to her chest, immediately falling back against the row of lockers. “Jesus, Dana, you scared me!” She said, immediately out of breath - disproportionately scared for just not seeing someone behind you in a school hallway.

“Yeah,” Dana agreed. “It’s really scary when people just . . . watch you behind your back. And take pictures of you and your girlfriend.”

“What are you talk-”

“Stop,” Dana commanded, and Victoria obeyed. Dana had never seen her face-down embarrassed, but here she was, and a smirk crept up on Dana’s face. She had never been willing to play the school politics game to get a one-up on Victoria, but she couldn’t pretend she didn’t enjoy it in this situation.

After a few more seconds, Victoria asked, now sounding severe despite her clear shame, “So, what do you want?”

Dana finally lifted a hand up to point at Victoria. “You. You’re going to admit to Max how you feel, and then you’re going to leave us alone.”

Victoria wasn’t very convincing by the time she managed to start talking: “I think that she’s . . . a fucking . . . weirdo.”

Dana nodded, and dropped her hands to her hips. “Yeah, she’s my fucking weirdo. And you’re, in all truth, just ~ _the prettiest, most popular girl in school_ ~, which is basically Max’s honest-to-god anime fantasy.”

Victoria blushed, and Dana had to hold back her visible cringe from second hand embarrassment. “R-really?” she asked.

Dana turned her head up towards the ceiling and moaned, “Uuuugghhh.”  
 _God._ Disrespecting Victoria like this was fun. Too bad Victoria hadn’t had crushes like this over the past two years - she never would have gotten so popular.  
“Yes, Vicky. So now you are going to write my girlfriend a love letter, leave it in her locker, and then you need to chill the fuck out, okay?”

Victoria’s eyes darted about for an avenue of escape, but she had given up sports years ago, and Dana had clearly, well, not. She had no chance.  
So she just swallowed (her pride as well as her spit, Dana imagined), and replied, “”Kay . . .”

Dana turned to leave, but then stopped and shot Victoria one more glance. “Oh. And if you say anything mean to her to try and cover it up, I will _literally_ put you in a garbage can so you can be returned to your natural habitat.”

Nothing was more fun than Victoria’s look of fear, Dana decided. Except maybe kissing Max, which she decided to go do right now.


	5. A Trick, a Treat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Could you have a wardfield fic where Vic walks in on Dana and Max doing the deed in a classroom?"

> **Danny <3:** Meet me in Jefferson’s after second period.  
>  **Danny <3**: He leaves the door unlocked and I need help with a project.  
>  **Danny <3:** Please?

She sent a kiss emoji afterwards, and that cracked a smile on Max’s face. There was a very short break after second period, only about ten minutes, so whatever help Dana might need must be pretty simple. Max wasn’t exactly sure why it had to be in Jefferson’s seeing as Dana didn’t actually take any of his classes, but, well, she might really be asking for Juliet.

Either way, Max had the time, and she wasn’t about to say no to a kiss emoji.

During the early class release rush, Max quickly made her way from the back of the school up towards the entry hall. She figured nobody would find it too weird if she went into a class while everyone was still actively moving about, even if the class was unoccupied, so she slipped into the photography room while everyone else was heading for Ms. Grant’s across the hall.

The room was a lot darker than it usually was, Max realized, with a gray-yellow tinge everywhere except where the bright light of the hallway beamed in through the door window. The blinds had been dropped all the way and turned up, so it was really only the glow from the interior of them that lit the room.  
Juliet wasn’t in here, but Dana was, sitting on the edge of Max’s desk with her phone in her lap and headphones plugged in, though only one was in her ear.

As soon as Max stood there in the hallway, Dana looked up and smiled at her, tugging the nub from her ear and pausing whatever she was looking at.

“Hey there, stranger,” she greeted. Max expected her to stand up, but instead she just scooted over on the desk and tapped on it to indicate Max should sit with her.

“Hey,” Max replied, pulling off her messenger bag as she approached the desk. “I’m not really getting ‘school project’ vibes from the no-lights empty-classroom thing.”

Dana snickered, lifting her eyebrows as Max sat beside her, her feet not quite making it down to the floor. “I never said it was a school project, hun,” and Dana leaned to kiss Max on the cheek.

“Well then, what kind of . . .” Max finally looked down at Dana’s lap, and saw quite clearly what she had paused. “Uh.” She paused, just staring for a few seconds before looking back up to Dana, who just had a pleasant smile on her face.  
“Is that porn?” Max asked, pointing down at the obviously-porn.

“Yep,” Dana confirmed, apparently pleased that Max had noticed.

“You’re watching porn in an empty classroom while school’s in?”

Dana raised a finger up, booping Max on the nose as she said, “Yep.”

“Uhh.” Max could already feel her embarrassment rising, not sure how to adapt to the situation. At the same time, she was pretty sure she knew how they got here: “Is this because I told you about my fanta-”

“Yep.”

Max let out a groan, dropping her head into her hands. “Danny, why? We have like eight minutes, and this would totally be grounds for expulsion. It’s a terrible idea.”

“Yep.” Dana raised the ear bud that she hadn’t been using up near Max’s face. “But you’re into it.”  
And there was no hint of uncertainty in that comment. Dana knew Max, and she knew what got her going, and now Max was cornered in something she had wished for aloud and many more times silently.

Max sighed. “Fiiine. But like, quick.” She plucked the headphone Dana offered and lodged it in her ear while Dana did the same with her own.

Dana raised up her phone for them both to see before hitting the play button, launching them about seven minutes deep into an Elle Alexandra video (goddammit, Dana had paid really good attention to Max’s tastes, fuck).

Max swallowed loudly after a few seconds of watching, not sure whether to embrace the moment or try and just get through the next few minutes without potentially ruining her academic career. Dana shifted a little in place every few seconds, and Max could feel her own pulse jump while she tried to keep her breathing slow.

_Just chill, Max, it will be okay. Just watch the video._

Dana, however, seemed to have other plans. After about a minute, she turned to Max, tugged her headphone out gently, and whispered into Max’s ear, “Touch me.”

And Max finally let herself peel her eyes off the video. Dana was staring right back at her eyes, an almost shy smile on her face now. Except for the tiny detail that she was biting! her! lower! lip!

And Max was just fucked.

Max reached up and wrapped her fingers around the back of Dana’s neck and pulled her close, kissing her without regard for foreplay. Dana lowered her phone a little, setting it between them so the sounds continued to play in their ears.  
Max tried to slip her hand right into Dana’s shorts, but, thanks to how she was sitting, found her route (and circulation) cut off. She pushed on Dana’s belly until she got the message to lie down, dragging the phone along with them as Max’s fingers slid over her pubic hair.

She could tell pretty quickly that Dana had actually watched the video up to that point, rubbing the wetness from between her lips over her clit. The sound of someone orgasming in the video broke all designs Max had on being careful, and Dana inhaled suddenly as Max started quicker than she anticipated. 

Max kept a mental tab open for how she was going to wash this cum off without anyone noticing while kissing Dana. As much as she liked the idea of this semi-public sex thing, it also kicked her anxiety into overdrive.

“Slower, slower,” Dana cautioned, and Max switched to longer, slower strokes, prompting an appreciative groan before their lips met again.

When she heard the door open, Max just froze in terror instead of doing anything productive. Unfortunately, Dana didn’t have much better instincts except to sit up, so when the light flicked on, Max’s hand was not quite out of Dana’s pants just yet.

Victoria jumped as she saw them there on the back-middle table. “Jesus! Fucking Christ, what the fuck?”

Dana hit the pause button as Max turned around, and Victoria finally seemed to recognize who she was seeing.

“Are you-” Victoria turned, looking out the door window, then continued in a lower voice, “Are you two _fucking_ in Jefferson’s right now? Seriously?”

Max wasn’t sure how to hide her hand without staining her shirt or getting cum on the table, so she just sort of held it above her lap.  
  
“I, uh, I,” Max started trying to think of an answer.  
“Yep,” Dana answered for her, folding her hands in her lap and failing to meet Victoria’s eyes.

Victoria’s eyes seemed to narrow on Dana, even though Max was the one actually looking at her. “You are. Disgusting. Get out. I’m supposed to file shit.”

Dana was quick to shove her phone into her pocket and head towards the door with barely more than a (self-satisfied) look in Victoria’s direction. Max, however, just put her hands behind her back and hesitated in front of Jefferson’s desk where Victoria sat.

“Could you um . . . not tell anyone, please?” Max gripped her own wrist, hoping the open posture would make Victoria more receptive. Plus, she wanted to take the sheen off her fingertips.

Victoria rolled her eyes, not looking up nor actually doing anything at the desk. “Whatever, Max. I don’t care, just get out, please.” She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly as she said ‘please.’

Max cast a look over to Dana, who was waiting for her at the door expectantly. However, Max pointed at the door with a shrug, and said, “Hey, Danny, can you give me a sec?”

Dana looked confused, but after a few seconds of her eyes darting between Max and Victoria, she replied, “Sure,” and stepped out of the classroom.

As soon as the door was closed, Victoria’s eyes snapped up to Max, who yet lingered silently. “What?” she asked, clearly irritated.

“Uh.”  
 _God, this is awkward._  
“Are you . . . the one who left the letter in my locker?”

The way that something suddenly seemed to snap inside of Victoria in surprise was enough for Max to believe it. Her reply did little to cast doubt on it either, “I . . . what? What letter?”

“The, um,” Max reached into her back pocket and withdrew the neatly-folded piece of paper. “The letter I found in my locker yesterday”

Victoria’s eyes immediately locked right onto the piece of paper, and she replied, “Why in the world would you think I wrote you a letter?”

Max would have unfolded it, but it was yet another thing she didn’t want to risk staining. “Well, I mean, it was typed. And I know you don’t like to write things by hand so I thought . . . maybe . . .”

Victoria’s eyes were wide, and although Max thought she saw a blush, it was probably just the same sort of awkward, embarrassed blush that Max herself got when confronting people.

Max shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her head. “I, I guess nevermind.”

As she began to put the letter back in its place, though, Victoria suddenly lunged forward over the desk, grasping Max’s wrist and keeping her from stowing it. Max, with her shitty reflexes, was much too slow to even flinch, and was just left staring at Victoria’s back, most of her torso dropped on the desk in front of her.

Without letting go, Victoria slowly craned her neck up, looking up at Max’s confused, rather blank face.  
“How did you know I don’t like writing stuff?”

Max shrugged. “You know all the answers, but Courtney writes all your papers. Every assignment is typed, and you don’t let anyone but Courtney look at your notes. I thought you might be dyslexic but . . . you’re really good at dates and places so. I guess not?”

Victoria released her grip on Max and slowly, slowly stood upright. And she was definitely very, very red somewhere under her makeup. Max was not sure how she was supposed to feel about that.

“Look,” Victoria said, a sharp point in her voice. “Please, just, pretend I didn’t write it. I never would have if I knew you’d figure it out, I n-”

“But you did write it,” Max interjected, her eyes locking with Victoria’s.

Victoria swallowed visibly. “Yeah.”

“So . . .” Max trailed off, not sure where to begin.

“So.”


	6. [NEW] Help!: My Girlfriend is Cute and Popular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria can't seem to do anything mean when Max is around, and it begins to affect everyone's perception of her as Queen Bee.
> 
> Part 4 of the "Victoria likes Max but is a total goofball" subplot, starting with "Smitten but not Bitten"

****Things had been super weird since their talk in the photography room. Once Victoria dropped her bullshit, she fell apart for a few minutes to confess what Max guessed resembled the truth. Victoria liked her. She wanted to take responsibility for her own feelings and get over it. Max thought that was very mature.

And, well, it was starting to make things _weird_. Victoria was obviously uncomfortable with Max (and, apparently, Dana) knowing. At the very least, she was uncomfortable with the risk of exposure for her dirty little secret, because she’s stopped being mean to Max and Dana around campus.

Almost.

It seemed like Victoria was stuck in her old cycle, and it always took her a second to realize how the scales had changed. More than once in photography Victoria had turned to Max after she’d given an incorrect or dismissive answer, only to freeze, stare at Max awkwardly for a moment, and look away.

Well, from what Max could tell, it was an improvement, and nobody really seemed to notice.  
Not until Victoria approached while she was talking to Kate.

It was the normal gang: Vic, Taylor, and Courtney, emerging from the main classroom hall’s girls’ bathroom while Max and Kate talked in front of the trophy case. As they passed by, Victoria let out a, “Hey losers,” not even pausing to create a formidable wall.

Except, unlike normal, Max replied, “Oh hey Vic.”  
And that made her stop in her tracks, Taylor and Courtney taking a step ahead before they realized she’d stopped, and they all pivoted to look back at Max. Courtney put on a glare for Max and Kate’s sake, but Taylor just looked at Victoria, unimpressed.

“Oh.” Victoria said, as if she suddenly realized who she was talking to. “Right. Sorry.”  
And though Courtney and Taylor visibly recoiled from the unexpected apology, Victoria just turned again and kept walking.

“What was that about?” Kate asked as she turned back towards Max, brushing some of the renegade strands of her hair behind her ear.

“I have no idea,” Max lied. If Kate didn’t believe it, she made no sign of it, and those two continued on.

Unfortunately, those five hadn’t been alone in the hallway. Victoria had tread on treacherous ground, and she’d slipped. At the other corner of the intersection, Brooke and Juliet stood discussing something over Brooke’s tablet, though their focus evaporated as soon as Max called back to Victoria. Victoria and her posse hadn’t noticed them, and Max didn’t even recognize the danger of them being there until later.

“Later” being that night, when Max was laying off the edge of Dana’s bed, scrolling through her phone while Dana sat far more comfortably against the wall, answering messages on her Facebook. Max had no way of knowing that one _whip!_ from Messenger was any different, not until Dana spoke up.

“So, Juliet wants to know what you did to make Victoria scared of you,” Dana said, looking up from her computer, pausing her continuous clacking.

“What?” Max asked, unwilling to put in the effort to push her torso back onto the bed.

“I’m not sure, that’s all she said.”  
A brief pause.  
“Here, let me ask.”

Dana typed so fast it was scary, leaving more lull than typing when she was focusing on a conversation.   
Maybe a minute later, though, and she said, “Apparently, you and Victoria had a confrontation in the hall today, and you leered her down and she backed off. Apparently the school’s abuzz that you neutered her. What happened?”

“Oh,” Max replied, “nothing.”

“Eh?” Dana asked, apparently unconvinced.

Finally, Max tossed her phone onto the bed and pushed herself up cross-legged. Dana’s hair was down again, a messy flop only too thin and long to call a bowl cut. Max couldn’t quite put her finger quite on why, but the way Dana’s appearance fluctuated so much throughout the day - clean and neat before practice, made-up and warm afterwards, fluffy and messy in her pajamas before bed - appealed to her a lot. She wasn’t sure whether it was the consistency or the variation, but it made Dana . . . _fun_ to look at. 

Max scratched the back of her head, her recent undercut having left her itchy all the time.  
“No, I mean like, literally nothing. I think she was going to be rude, but then she just apologized and left.”

Max didn’t quite expect Dana’s giggle, the way she covered her mouth and closed her eyes as she did. It was more reserved than normal, but also . . . to something Max didn’t quite read as funny.

“Uh . . . what?” Max asked.

Dana waved away the question, although she answered, “Oh, god, nothing. I just didn’t think my threat would work so well.”

“Wait, wait, hold up.” Max scooted herself across the comforter, sitting knee-to-knee with Dana, the laptop between them. “Threat? When did you threaten Victoria? Why?”

“Ugh, I dunno, like a week ago? Or . . . last Monday, I think?”

“Why?”

“Well, I mean. She’d been following you around a little and taking pictures.”

Max blinked. “She _what_?”

Dana cocked her head to the side. “Oh. I thought she would have mentioned that when you two talked. Yeah. I told her to chill out, tell you how she felt, and then leave us alone.”

“Wait, so . . .” Max paused, trying to significantly reorganize the past week or so in her head.  
“Wait. So did she write that letter because of you?”

Dana’s answer came slowly. Her eyes darted away from Max towards the door, and she raised a hand away from her keyboard to rest on her cheek, smooshing her face a little (a lot).  
Her answer came quietly, too. “Maybe.”

Silence.

Max reached out for Dana’s upright arm and pinched her.

“Ow!” Dana whined, recoiling.

“You knew somebody liked me and you didn’t tell me? You . . . you goblin!” Max reached to pinch her again, but this time Dana only caught her hand, bringing her fingers close enough to kiss. Which she did, of course, in an attempt to quell Max’s righteous fury.  
It worked, even if Max kept making pinching gestures in the air after she’d given up.

“Yeah, I did.”

Max finally gave up her pinching entirely, settling instead for an exaggerated pout before plummeting down on the bed.

“But Daaaannnnyyyyy,” she whined. “Crushes are so fun and cute and I didn’t know about Victoria until it got weird.”

Dana managed to snort and smirk at the same time, closing her laptop and sliding it off her lap. She waddled on her knees over to Max and climbed on top of her, folding her arms as if she had something to be stubborn about.

“Well I’m sooorrryyy that you’re just soooo popular. I got you a cute-ass confession letter instead of just lamely telling you so, you know what?” Dana started to poke Max’s sides, which were so ticklish that she immediately began to squirm, futilely attempting to bat Dana’s hands away as she started to giggle. That put a smile on Dana’s smile, even as she pinched her face to show how serious she was about her tickle dominance.  
“Be grateful you little punk.”

“Okay okay okay okay okaaayyyy,” Max said, finally managing to free her body enough from the prison of Dana’s legs to grab ahold of Dana’s wrists, ending her torture.  
The side of her face squished in thought while she shrugged. “I mean, it was pretty cute. _You_ haven’t written me any love letters.”

“Oh yeah?”  
Dana leaned down, relying on Max to support her what with the constrained wrists, bringing her into a deep kiss. Max let go of her wrists quickly in favor of her waist, and Dana brought a hand up to Max’s cheek, feeling the movement of her jaw under her thumb.

When they broke, Max’s breath was perhaps a little more ragged than it ought to be. It was so easy to get her excited.

“Okay, fair,” Max said, convinced that that settled everything.

Dana returned upright, though her hands fell to Max’s belly instead of across her chest.  
“Besides, I only messed with her because she was acting weird. Normally, if someone likes you, I just go on with my day, but with her-”

“Wai wai wai wait. Normally?”

“Yeah.”

“Who _else_ likes me? How do you even know this?”

“Question 2: being friends with Juliet fine-tunes your gossip monitor. Question 1: Warren, duh, and Justin. I’m pretty sure.” Dana looked around the room for half a second before adding, “Plus, Justin like, told me. Before he realized I’d swooped you.”

“No way.”

Dana leaned down, pecking Max’s nose before bobbing back up.  
“Way.”

Max shook her head, but then looked up dead into Dana’s eyes.  
“No, I mean, do you know what this means?”

Dana tilted her head to the side, even if it just got her hair somehow more in her face.

Max raised up her hand to start counting on her fingers, though “1″ started with a pointer finger jab at Dana: “A hot jock. A geek. A stoner skater anarchist dude. And the Queen Bee.”  
After she hit four, Max opened up both hands, wide like her eyes.  
“Babe, I’m universally popular. I’m like one or two short of a harem. I’m-”

“Oh no,” Dana interjected, cupping her hands over her mouth in horror. “I’m dating a anime protagonist.”

Max figured that this was probably not the appropriate moment to mention that she had time powers.  
Instead, she just laughed awkwardly. “Y-yeah, you sure are.”

Dana shook her head, wiping her hands under her eyes as if weeping. “I think that means I’m gonna die.”

Now it was Max’s turn to snort. The comparison brought on a surge of ego and confidence, however, and Max grabbed Dana’s waist, flipping them over so that Max now sat on top.

“Don’t worry,” she said, pulling up Dana’s shirt and lowering herself to kiss her belly. “I think it’s more of a ‘cheap thrills’ sort of show.”

Dana giggled at first, slipping into a satisfied smile as the tickling sensation gave way to more tender kissing. “I’m all right with that.”


	7. Night Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taylor just needs a friend. And a hug. And a kiss. A million kisses.  
> They just have to be from Victoria Chase.

Taylor was far, far too drunk to keep dancing through the end of the party, and she knew it. She always made the dumb mistake of getting high before coming to manage her anxiety, but she was so spacey what she got cross-faded that she mostly ended up dancing with herself, managing scattered conversations with the people Victoria would get close to her. Any time one of the jocks or Hayden tried to get to close, Victoria would be on them like a teacher smacking their hands with a ruler.   
Taylor loved how Victoria protected her. She was grumpy, sarcastic, and often outright mean, but Victoria always tried her best to keep Taylor safe. She was there for Taylor, maybe even more than she was there for Nathan. And so, she’d get cross-faded and spacey, and even though she’d feel like shit later, Victoria would look after her.

That was how Taylor knew that she’d had too much - because Victoria informed her as much. Taylor could barely make out what she was saying except for “we should get out of here,” and Taylor almost always liked it when Victoria said that, even if she was having fun. So she let Victoria grab her by the wrist and drag her out the side door of the pool, out near the parking lot.

Taylor thought they were going back to the dorms to eat chocolate and pretzels, but no, no, Victoria just dragged her out into the cool air and set her against the wall of the pool. It was so rough - it was horrible to lean on. Why would Victoria set her down here? Here was not a comfy place.  
Victoria’s hand under her jaw was not very comfortable either, but her palm was warm and it made her look into her dark green eyes. It was not comfy at all, but it was all okay when Victoria’s lips met hers, blistering still from the humid dance floor. Victoria had her wrist against the wall now too, but she didn’t mind; it still left her with one for Victoria’s hair. She couldn’t knot her fingers in it now that she’d cut it short but she could still hear Victoria’s sharp intake of breath before their lips were together again.

Taylor’s jacket was off now, and Victoria’s kisses were little sunspots all over her neck, her collar bone. Victoria’s skin was never so warm but now it was feverish, and the heat of her soaked into Taylor everywhere their skin met.  
Where were Victoria’s lips now? Oh, there they were, at the base of Taylor’s jaw. There they were, tickling her ear. There they were, back on hers where they belonged.

Victoria stared at Taylor, though Taylor could barely open her eyes.

“What?” Taylor asked, confused. Why wasn’t she being kissed?

“Do you need aspirin?” Victoria asked, sounding tired.

“What?” Taylor asked again.

 

Victoria stood just inside of Taylor’s doorway, still dressed in what looked like pajamas. Or, rather, Victoria’s interpretation of pajamas, which just looked like a slightly small t-shirt and shorts.   
“I said, do you need aspirin? You look like shit.”

Taylor sat up a little more, rubbing her hazy dreams from her eyes. Her head was absolutely killing her, and her thoughts were scattered in every direction.

Taylor let out a long, long sigh, re-orienting herself in the world. “Yeah . . . yeah. An aspirin would be amazing.”


	8. Life in Snippets: Seriously?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can I get a Chasefield fic where Kate walks in on them doing the deed?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In _Life in Snippets_ , Victoria can feel other people's feelings, and, in intense situations, other people can feel hers, too. This connection is strongest when making eye contact.

“I’m actually . . . gonna go back to my room right now.”

Kate might have found Dana’s sudden departure strange, if she hadn’t just been overwhelmed with the same tingling sensation throughout her body. Dana just backed up a few steps into her room without another word. Honestly, it provided Kate with some degree of relief, as nobody questioned why she suddenly sagged against the wall, her breathing picking way up. Her pulse almost never escalated anymore - ever since she’d become invincible, a lot of things had just become a lot less scary.

This wasn’t fear that she was feeling. No, no, this sudden warmth radiating out of her skin just kept her breathing shallow. She wanted to go to her room, too, and just enjoy it, but knowing how the dorms was being affected made her uncomfortable at best.  
She knew who the culprit was. And she knew where to find her.

A few seconds later, Kate was banging on the door of Victoria’s room with the flat of her palm.  
“I’m coming in!” She announced, then counted to three to prevent the sudden escalation of fear that she didn’t feel like adding to everything she was already feeling.

At the end of her count, she turned the knob, and barged in. Everything she expected to see was right there - Victoria wrapped up in her sheets, her face a deep red; Max stark naked right beside her, trying to tear the sheets from her grasp to cover herself up, but to no avail.  
Kate entered and closed the door right behind her.

Max said, “Kate, what are you doing-” but Kate let out such a huffy sigh that it cut Max right off.  
Putting on a polite, if somewhat sarcastic smile, Kate turned to Victoria. “Tori,” she said, extremely professionally, “you’re radiating your feelings outwards again. To the whole dorm, actually.”   
An uncomfortable grin burst on Kate’s face as she said this, and Victoria abandoned the sheet to hide her face in her hands. Max was quick to tug the sheet free, just pulling it right over her head so she couldn’t be seen at all.

Victoria’s hands fell to her mouth after a few seconds, and she replied, “Oh my god, shit, I’m sor-”

Kate held up a finger to pause her, and to her delight, Victoria obeyed. “No. No. You do not get to say ‘I’m sorry’. Seriously?, this is the _third time_. Dana just ended our conversation to go back to her room; I am _dripping_ wet, and I am pretty sure I heard Stella’s _incredibly_ loud vibrator turn on from out in the hall. This has got to stop.”

Now Victoria was just covering half of her face with her hand, but she was clearly pouting. If Kate hadn’t been so annoyed, she probably would have found it pretty cute. But now, her pouty “But I was so close . . .” just rankled Kate.

Kate took a deep breath, dealing with her own frustration as well as the nightmarish waves of embarrassment and arousal from Victoria.  
After she exhaled, she said quietly, but no less sternly, “Fine. Max, just finish her. Like, quickly, some of us have homework to do.”

Max pulled up the sheet and gave Kate a neutral expression. When Kate made no moves, she tilted her head curiously. “Like, right now?” she asked.

Kate sounded exasperated, “Yes!”

Victoria and Max looked at each other.  
“Uh, okay,” Max shrugged.

“Are you just going to stand here or are you-” Victoria cut off speech in favor of a flat-toned, quiet screech of mind blank as Max apparently found her sweet spot with practiced ease.  
And, seeing as she and Victoria were still making eye contact, Kate felt a lot more of it herself than she had planned for. She had planned to just turn and leave, but as her legs seemingly turned to jelly, she sagged against the door instead.

Victoria was going to try and continue her question, Kate could tell, but Max pushed her down and corrected any designs she had at saying anything more.


	9. Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if there was an option to confront the issue during Chloe's dare in episode 3?

“For example . . .” Chloe held her hands behind her back and smiled, so small but so mischievously that I knew nothing good was coming. This was the smile that said “let’s break into the school pool” or “let’s detonate a pipe bomb”. I loved that smile, but my god was it trouble.

She blinked and looked down, letting her hands free behind her back. “I dare you to kiss me.”

There was a beat where I wondered if she realized what she said, and she seemed to be contemplating the same thing.

But she followed up, “I double dare you. Kiss me now.”

I wasn’t sure if she meant it, but I had been on edge ever since last night to hear her say it. It was like a spring had been set since she landed that look on me outside of Well’s office, and now it sprung, launching me forward the quick step up to her, onto my toes, her face in my hands and

Our lips only met for a brief peck before she stepped back, almost out of arm’s reach, and my hands fell slowly to my side.

“Damn, you’re hardcore, Max.”

There was an edge of panic in her voice that I hadn’t expected, and it immediately left my heart sinking into my stomach. She hadn’t expected me to kiss her, that was obvious. But I think she was surprised to discover that she didn’t want me to, either.

The note faded as she regained her regular demeanor, “Now I can text Warren and tell him he doesn’t stand a chance . . .” she turned to drop back onto her bed, “unless he’s into girl-on-girl action.”

While I didn’t _doubt_ that Warren was into that, I stayed still, just letting her deflection bounce off of me.

No, no, this was wrong. I was too hasty.

_I’ll set it right._

I lifted. my hand and rewound.

“Kiss me n . . . ow.” Chloe seemed a little surprised to find my hand next to her cheek, not quite finishing what she had to say until I rested my fingers along the back of her jaw.

I looked up into her eyes, and I wasn’t sure if I was happy or disappointed to see the nervousness in her eyes. This was so much more like the Chloe I knew, going too far and just pretending to not be scared. At the same time, though, I knew there was more to this. I knew she was trying to be cool, and that she probably meant it.  
But she was scared.

“Max?” she asked as I hesitated, her eyes seeming to trail along the length of my arm. Her skin burned under my palm.

I nodded slowly. “I’ll kiss you, Chloe. But I feel like you’re . . .”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to steel myself. If she didn’t recognize it, maybe this would piss her off. Maybe I was reading everything wrong.  
Or maybe she wanted me to notice.

“I feel like last night, in Well’s office, like it scared you. About Nathan, about Rachel. And you’re trying to be cool like it didn’t. But it’s okay to be scared for Rachel, and to miss her.”

Chloe blinked, silent, and I figured that was a good sign that she had no quick, snappy retort.

I bit the inside of my cheek, and the last few words came softly, “But I’m not her, Chloe. And I don’t want to kiss you when it isn’t for the right reasons.”

I could see the twists that caused inside as soon as I started talking, and she made the strained, ugly expression of trying to hold back tears. I know she hates making the face, I know she tries to be cool. But I just don’t think I’m her cool friend.

She was looking down somewhere in between us, a little beyond her socks on the hardwood floor. Her cheeks were red from my hand or shame, I don’t know which, but I was glad that, for once, she wasn’t joking, wasn’t flirting to twist me around, just listening and trying to know what to say.

And although she couldn’t quite look up all the way, she said, “Then, when it’s right.” Her eyes finally rose up to meet might. “When it’s _perfect_ , kiss me. I dare you.”

And that was something I could smile for.

She took a step back, just outside of my arm’s reach. “Damn Max, I don’t have the heelies to slide away from these feelies. Just make sure Warren isn’t there when you do it, okay?” She plopped back down on her bed. “I mean, he’d probably be into it, but the dude clearly still thinks he has a chance.”

She grabbed at her phone, as if telling him about our not-kiss were her first priority, then lay back down.

After another moment, she stated, “I bet you milked that moment for a serious makeout sesh, then rewound to look classy, huh?”

I rolled my eyes harder than a fighter’s will save, perhaps more than necessary to call out her almost-accurate idea. She wasn’t the only one who could deflect, though, “And what if I did?”

And the way she grinned with her lip in her teeth sent a shiver down my spine.


	10. Life is Fluff: How it Began, the Fourth or Fifth Time Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Kate stay up to watch _Scott Pilgrim_ in the common room, where they share their first kiss . . . again.

Max had expected, when they began these movie nights, that Kate would have experience with virtually nothing. As a sheltered church girl, she would have of course been steered primarily towards Disney moves and Nicholas Sparks films. Of course, after the first few rounds of questioning, it became clear that Kate was plenty familiar with the big series out there: _Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men_. Kate didn’t actually seem to need a crash-course on popular culture.

So instead, they were working their way through the careers of Ellen Page and Michael Cera, appropriately starting with _Juno_ , which Kate had found to be an absolute racket. Max didn’t even know Kate would ever full-out laugh until the “I actually try really hard” bit, and Max didn’t even find it _that_ funny.

Still, that led to them laying side-by-side in their pajamas in the common room some Saturday night, just a few minutes after Light’s Out. Today they were watching _Scott Pilgrim vs. the World_ , and Kate’s distinct lack of laughter at the video game references were really starting to get to Max.

“This music is the Great Fairy theme from _Ocarina of Time_ ,” Max said, sad to be the only one caught in the glee.  
“That’s a Zelda game, right?” Kate fed a small handful of (unbuttered) popcorn into her mouth, barely blinking as she watched.

“Pssh, yeah. The _best_ one.”

Kate turned a little on her side, propping herself up on her elbow. Luckily, there weren’t any more huge-important details or super-cool references for at least a few seconds, so Max wasn’t too worried about this.

“I’m always going to miss like, 20 percent of what you say unless I start playing video games, aren’t I?”

Max shrugged, “I mean, put me next to Warren and it’s probably 50%. I had a lot of free time as a kid, what with all the homework I didn’t do.”

That put a, admittedly short-lived, smile on Kate’s face. Max dropped another piece of her (buttered, damn right) popcorn into her mouth, her eyes still trained on the television. After a few seconds (and a scene transition), though, she realized Kate’s eyes were much more on her than the TV.

“What’s up?” Max asked. Kate’s eyes were starting to get that . . . troubled look. Not the dead-eyed stare, just the withdrawn, searching one.

After a few seconds she said, “I just . . . I wish we could spent more time together. I wish I wasn’t so busy. I like hanging out with you.”

Max grinned, reaching up with a finger she hoped wasn’t too buttery and salty: “And I _love_ ” she expected Kate to withdraw, but successfully booped her nose, “hanging out with you. If I didn’t already know how early you get up, I’d ask you to spend more nights like this.”

Max expected banter at comments like this. Chloe had taught her to expect retorts, funny pull-aways from niceness to seem cool. As always, she evaluated Kate wrong.  
Kate cocked her head to the side, eyes softening. “Really?” she asked, lighter than before.

And here was Max, suddenly in a spot light she had not expected. Maybe it would be best to play it cool, like Chloe did. Reassure Kate while also keeping her distance. It would be best for both of them. Being too close to this Kate before time was turned back again would only make it harder.  
Max swallowed, trying to hold back her honesty. But that just wasn’t a skill she had. “I would spend a lot more time with you if I could, Kate. Nights, mornings, classes . . . whenever.”

Apparently Max had said the wrong thing, because she had clearly said the right thing. There was a long moment of hesitation that seemed to roll of Kate in waves, but then she slowly, slowly lowered herself down. If she hadn’t been so slow, Kate might have managed to pull to a cheek kiss at the last second, and play it all off, but instead her lips met Max’s, warm and soft.

When she realized Max sat still, though, she stopped, and pulled away. Whatever she read on Max’s face, she must not have liked it, because her expression curdled into shame.  
“I . . . I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” She pulled away even more. “You’re with Chloe, aren’t you? I’m sorry, I-”

Max reached out and grabbed Kate’s wrist. She wanted to be gentle, to be tender, but she also needed to shut Kate up before she became more confused, more sullen, more self-destructive. Max would not let her.

And although Kate toppled over, she managed to plant her lips right back onto Max’s, and Max brought her other hand around to her neck to make her stay. Kate seemed almost frozen in place, but only for a brief moment before she brought her hand to cup Max’s cheek, fingertips forming little stepping stones from Max’s brow to her ear.

When they parted, Max asked, “Is this okay?”  
It was always so easy to forget, in moments like this, how each Kate was different. How some would meld against Max as if it were the most natural thing in the world, how some would seem like they would flee. Some who blushed at Max’s touch, and some, like this one, who touched first.

“As long as we can do it again?” Kate asked, still unsure.

Max smiled, and again, she couldn’t hold back her feelings (even if it was the right thing to do, even if it would ease the pain further down the road).

She made a promise she couldn’t keep, but the promise that had kept her going this long. “Always,” Max replied.

It was like Kate, some Kate who belonged as much to Max as Max belonged to Kate, heard that and understood. She just smiled, and leaned down to kiss Max again.


	11. Merry Christmas from the Price Residence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas, 2014, the _Love is Strange_ cast gathers at the Price residence to really fuck up a Mariah Carey song.

[As soon as the first tiny bell jingles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY) come through the TV speakers, Rachel’s head snaps to look at it. When she realizes that yes, it’s real, it’s happening, she springs to her feet in the middle of the living room.

Kate knows what’s coming, even if she’s never seen Rachel around Christmas before. There’s no way that Rachel isn’t going to - 

> “Ah-aaah-aah.”

This catches Max and Chloe’s attention, and Chloe sits up from Max’s lap. Back from the kitchen, Dana peaks her head around the corner to see what’s up.

> “I don’t want a lot for Christmas~”

Rachel ignores the eyes on her, shutting her eyes and beginning to sway in rhythm. Still, she and Mariah could use some back-up.

Now, Rachel and Kate in unison: “There is just one thing I need.”

Dana’s got a smirk on her face that makes Kate blush, but it’s too late to stop now. Max and Chloe are watching, too, eyes wide, as if they still don’t get what’s happening.

> “I don’t care about the presents  
>  Underneath the Christmas tree.”

Rachel opens one eye slyly to get a peak at Kate, but once she can see her singing, she closes her eyes again.  
Max joins in, because she’s not a punk who pretends things aren’t good because they’re popular like her girlfriend.

> “I just want you for my own  
>  More than you could ever know  
>  Make my wish come true  
>  All I want for Christmas  
>  Is you~”

As soon as the instrumentation kicks in, Rachel starts to bob her head up and down to the beat, and swaps out her swaying for step-touching. Now even Joyce has stopped what she was doing in the kitchen.  
Kate’s embarrassed, but it doesn’t stop her from belting out the next few lines. It doesn’t stop Dana or Chloe either.

Rachel’s eyes open as she begins to dance, pointing at Max and Chloe with every ‘All I want is you”.

It quickly descends into a din, and Kate is the only one who notices Taylor and Victoria getting back from their smoke break in the back yard. They just sit there, stunned for a second.

Then, unprompted, Taylor jumps alongside Rachel and just shouts: “ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU!”

Victoria groans loud enough to be audible, but no one pays her any mind. Rachel darts forward, grabbing Max and Chloe’s hands and pulling them up alongside her and Taylor. Kate just keeps on singing along while Dana comes to the back of her seat, resting her elbows just behind Kate’s head. Kate has no idea if she’s on pitch - she can barely hear herself.

Just as Taylor is dragging Victoria into the mess, Dana taps Kate’s shoulder. When she looks, Dana nods her head towards the open space outside of the couches that isn’t absolutely filled with girls right now. Kate raises her eyebrows in question, but Dana just backs up, and she follows.

Dana grabs her hands, as if Kate should know what is happening. Wait. She does. It’s swing-

And then they’re going, Dana leading her in the most cramped west coast swing of her life.

But then it’s over, and Taylor groans in disappointment.

“FUCK YOU, IT’S NOT OVER!” Rachel shouts, grabbing the remote. 

She taps a few buttons, and then, those little bells are there again.

This time, everyone is singing along. Kate can see a sullen David near the garage entrance, but she just ignores him.

Instead of resuming their swing dance as it hits the allegro, though, Dana just brings Kate’s hands to her hips and drapes her arms over her shoulders.

“I don’t want a lot-” Kate tries to keep singing, but Dana’s kissing her and she has to stop, just standing in the hall while Max trips and falls on the couch, then the floor.

They’re still kissing as Victoria and Rachel give their loudest is “BABY ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU!”


End file.
